[Withdrawal of benzodiazepines in the elderly]. / Retirada de benzodiacepinas en el anciano.

TITLE: Retirada de benzodiacepinas en el anciano.

[Sleep quality and adaptation to shift-work among ambulance staff in the Basque Country].

BACKGROUND: To explore the extent to which the shift-workers of emergency ambulances maintain an adequate sleep quality and adaptation to shift-work, and its relationship to personal, circadian rhythm, and work-related factors. METHODS: A cross-sectional study was performed on a sample of 180 technicians and nurses from the Emergency Medical Service of the Basque Country (18-60 years old) who were surveyed. The Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI), the Adaptation to Shift-Work Scale (ASW), the Circadian Type Questionnaire (CTQ) and the Composite Scale of Morningness (CSM) for evaluating chronotype, were administered. RESULTS: Fifty-two percent of the staff presented an intermediate adaptation and 30% reported a good adaptation. A progressive deterioration of sleep quality across the shifts (52% were bad sleepers during days-off, 63% after day-shifts and 90% after night-shifts) was related to a poorer level of adaptation to shift-work. A predictive model of adaptability was obtained based on the baseline level of sleep quality during the days-off and the V factor. The R factor moderated this interaction positively or negatively depending on sleep quality. CONCLUSIONS: There is a high presence of sleep disorders among the technicians and nurses of emergency ambulances as the main symptom of maladjustment to shift-work. Sleeping habits can cushion the impact of difficulties in resting and favor a better adaptation to shifts, introducing key-factors at the level of formation, prevention and intervention.

Calidad del sueño y adaptación a los turnos rotatorios en trabajadores de ambulancias de emergencias del País Vasco / Sleep quality and adaptation to shift-work among ambulance staff in the Basque Country

FUNDAMENTO: Explorar la calidad del sueño y la adaptación a la turnicidad del personal de ambulancias de urgencias y su relación con factores sociodemográficos, circadianos y laborales. MATERIAL Y MÉTODOS: Estudio transversal sobre 180 técnicos y enfermeros (18-60 años) de la Red de Transporte Sanitario Urgente del País Vasco realizado mediante encuestas. Se emplearon el Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI) para evaluar la calidad del sueño, la Escala de Adaptación al Turno de Trabajo (ATT), el Circadian Type Questionnaire (CTQ) de hábitos de sueño, y la Composite Scale of Morningness (CSM) para valorar el cronotipo. RESULTADOS: El 52% presentó una adaptación intermedia y el 30% buena. El progresivo deterioro de la calidad del sueño a lo largo de la turnicidad (pobre calidad durante los días libres en el 52% de trabajadores, 63% tras turnos de día y 90% tras turnos de noche) se relacionó con una peor adaptación. Se obtuvo un modelo predictivo de la adaptabilidad partiendo del nivel basal de calidad del sueño durante los días libres y la vigorosidad para vencer la somnolencia. El factor rigidez de hábitos de sueño moderó positiva o negativamente esta interacción en función de la buena o mala calidad del sueño. CONCLUSIONES: Las alteraciones del sueño son frecuentes entre el personal de ambulancias de urgencias, como principal síntoma de desadaptación a los turnos inherentes a su actividad. Los hábitos de sueño parecen amortiguar el impacto de las dificultades del descanso y favorecer la adaptación a los turnos, aportando factores claves a nivel de formación, prevención e intervención

BACKGROUND: To explore the extent to which the shift-workers of emergency ambulances maintain an adequate sleep quality and adaptation to shift-work, and its relationship to personal, circadian rhythm, and work-related factors. METHODS: A cross-sectional study was performed on a sample of 180 technicians and nurses from the Emergency Medical Service of the Basque Country (18-60 years old) who were surveyed. The Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI), the Adaptation to Shift-Work Scale (ASW), the Circadian Type Questionnaire (CTQ) and the Composite Scale of Morningness (CSM) for evaluating chronotype, were administered. RESULTS: Fifty-two percent of the staff presented an intermediate adaptation and 30% reported a good adaptation. A progressive deterioration of sleep quality across the shifts (52% were bad sleepers during days-off, 63% after day-shifts and 90% after night-shifts) was related to a poorer level of adaptation to shift-work. A predictive model of adaptability was obtained based on the baseline level of sleep quality during the days-off and the V factor. The R factor moderated this interaction positively or negatively depending on sleep quality. CONCLUSIONS: There is a high presence of sleep disorders among the technicians and nurses of emergency ambulances as the main symptom of maladjustment to shift-work. Sleeping habits can cushion the impact of difficulties in resting and favor a better adaptation to shifts, introducing key-factors at the level of formation, prevention and intervention

[Healthy sleep: evidence and guidelines for action. Official document of the Spanish Sleep Society]. / Sueño saludable: evidencias y guias de actuacion. Documento oficial de la Sociedad Española de Sueño.

One of the main objectives of the Spanish Sleep Society is to promote healthy sleep in both the general population and in health professionals. This document aims to conduct a review of the current scientific literature on sleep habits that can serve as the basis on which to establish a set of general recommendations, regarding healthy sleep, for use by the general population in Spain as well as to identify the main challenges faced by research into sleep habits. The document has been developed by a multidisciplinary team made up of members of the Spanish Sleep Society who are experts in paediatric sleep medicine, clinical neurophysiology, pulmonology, neurology, chronobiology, physiology and psychology. The existing scientific literature dealing with sleep habits in the general population was reviewed, and the following aspects were addressed: the current state of sleep habits in the Spanish population; a generic review of the optimum number of hours of sleep; the impact of the environmental setting (noise, temperature, illumination, etc.), hours of sleep, diet and sport, together with several specific sections for children and teenagers, shift-workers and drivers of different vehicles. The conclusions from all the aspects addressed in this document have resulted in a set of final general recommendations that will serve as a guide for the general population and health professionals. Likewise, the principal environmental challenges and future lines of research are also discussed.

[Antiepileptic drugs used in childhood. New products and new concepts]. / Fármacos antiepilépticos utilizados en la infancia. Nuevos productos y nuevos conceptos.

INTRODUCTION: Eight new antiepileptic drugs (AED) have been marketed in Spain since 1990 and others will soon follow. OBJECTIVE: To review the concepts underlying the development of the new drugs, as well as their indications, efficacy and safety. DEVELOPMENT: Pharmacologic antiepileptic intervention is no longer solely directed towards an anticonvulsant effect, but also to epileptogenic prevention, disease modification and reversal of pharmacoresistance. The development of new AED, initially based on the screening of putative products in animal models, changed during the last half of the century to a rational design based on known facts about excitatory /inhibitory neuronal mechanisms. More recently, attention has focussed on pharmacogenetics. The new AED were initially indicated for partial epilepsies, but some have been shown to have a broader clinical spectrum. Some show the ideal pharmacokinetic mechanisms, avoiding hepatic metabolism and protein binding. Drug interactions and adverse effects, especially severe idiosyncratic adverse effects, are rare, although there are some exceptions. In most cases, however, seizure control does not seem to be better than with the classic AED. Because of the specific characteristics of childhood epilepsy and pharmacokinetics, as well as the regulations governing the development of clinical trials, the use of new products in children is circumspect, which in turn delays the access of such patients to a possible therapeutic benefit.

Fármacos antiepilépticos utilizados en la infancia. Nuevos productos y nuevos conceptos / Antiepileptic drugs used in childhood. New products and new concepts

Introducción: Desde 1990 se han comercializado en nuestro país ocho nuevos fármacos antiepilépticos (FAE), y otros más lo serán en un futuro próximo. Objetivo Revisar los conceptos que guían el desarrollo de los nuevos fármacos, indicaciones, mecanismo de acción, eficacia y tolerabilidad. Desarrollo La intervención farmacológica antiepiléptica no es ya puramente anticonvulsionante, sino que se dirige hoy en día a la prevención de la epileptogénesis, a la modificación del pronóstico de la enfermedad y a revertir la farmacorresistencia. El desarrollo de nuevos fármacos pasó desde la experimentación animal con diferentes productos, hacia el "diseño racional" de fármacos basado en los mecanismos conocidos de excitación/inhibición neuronal durante la segunda mitad de siglo, para encaminarse actualmente hacia la denominada farmacogenética. Los nuevos FAE estaban indicados inicialmente para las epilepsias focales, aunque algunos han demostrado poseer un espectro de acción más amplio. La farmacocinética de muchos de ellos posee las características ideales, eludiendo el metabolismo hepático y la unión a proteínas. Las interacciones medicamentosas y los efectos secundarios son menores, sobre todo en lo referido a reacciones idiosincrásicas graves, existiendo alguna excepción que conviene reseñar. La eficacia terapéutica, sin embargo, no es mayor que la de los fármacos clásicos en la mayoría de los casos. Las características específicas de la epilepsia y de la farmacocinética durante la infancia, además de las normas oficiales para el desarrollo de los ensayos clínicos, condicionan una utilización precavida de los nuevos FAE en la infancia, lo que simultáneamente retrasa la accesibilidad de los niños al posible beneficio terapéutico (AU)